Stocking Stuffers
by nannygirl
Summary: A small collection of Christmas stories to help make everyone's spirits bright! Stories about family, friendship, and sometimes a bit of romance thrown in too. Next up with Bob being in Florida this Christmas someone else needs to fill in Santa's boots and the gang decides who.
1. Christmas Tree

_**Disclaimer: **I own nothing! I do not own That '70s Show nor any of its characters. I also do not own any other Christmas characters or movies or that are referenced. I own nothing!_

_**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! How are you all doing? Hope you're doing well and getting ready for the holidays! Only a few days away can you believe it? Well to help you all once again get into the spirit of things I've decided to start another little holiday collection of oneshots for Christmas this time. Yay! I hope lol. A couple of things though. First off I'm sorry for posting them so late, finals got in the way last week. Secondly, there won't be too many installments, I'm thinking just four or five, I've got four ideas planned out (this one included) but if you guys have ideas for the fifth feel free to share! Thirdly, the installments will probably be short as well this one came out longer than I thought it would though so I guess the lengths may vary. Fourth, A great big thanks to all my readers especially those who are coming from reading my Halloween collection, your encouragement on that collection and to do this one is why this collection has been started in the first place! And finally I hope you all enjoy this first installment and will come back to read more! I'd love to hear what you thought about it so please feel free to leave a review. Long or short, signed in or not signed it, new readers and loyal ones! It is the season of giving isn't it? Thanks again for stopping by! Please review if you can, hope you like, and please, Enjoy!_

* * *

Jackie Burkhart pushed open the kitchen's swinging door and entered the Forman living room, leaving behind the sweet aroma of newly baked sugar cookies and straight into a wave of fresh pine. Yes, Christmas time was here and had definitely hit the Forman house. The petite brunette smiled at Red but he didn't even see her as he was occupied with reading the paper on the sofa. Jackie then turned to her left and her smile doubled in size when she saw the task Kitty was busy with.

"Oh my gosh, Mrs. Forman those ornaments are gorgeous!" she squealed and stepped closer to examine the tree.

Kitty took a break from hanging up ornaments and moved closer to Jackie so she could get a better look at the ornaments that she had yet to hang up. Jackie quickly turned away from the tree and examined the silver and gold round ornaments that were in the box Kitty held in her hands, 'Ooing' and 'Awing' and each of the decorations, it caused Kitty's own grin to grow.

"Thank you Jackie, that is so sweet of you." Kitty said happily.

Nodding her head, Jackie put a gold ornament back in the box, "No problem. I mean I know you have those other ornaments that you usually put up like those tacky multicolored ones and those weird looking pinecone elves but these are much, much prettier. Good job!"

"Well thank you Jackie…I think." Kitty said her tone sounding a bit uncertain, however her smile remained in place, "They were having a sale on ornaments at the mall so I bought a few boxes….you should go over there and get some for your tree."

"Yeah!" An excited Jackie grinned at the thought of another excuse to go to the mall; her smile suddenly faded though when she remembered a detail that had somehow slipped her mind until now, "Well first I have to get my tree."

A gasp was heard as Kitty's blue eyes went wide, "Jackie, you haven't gotten your Christmas tree yet? Christmas is only two weeks away, when did you plan on getting it? New Years?!"

Jackie hung hear head, focusing her attention on one of the silver ornament hooks she'd been twirling in her fingers, "I know, I know, Mrs. Forman." She said, which was the truth—the past few days she had been telling herself that she needed to go out and buy her tree but she still had yet to actually do it. "But now that I'm living by myself it's not that easy to just go out and buy a great big Christmas tree."

Hearing this, Kitty's heart broke for the poor dear, "Oh Jackie, if it's money you're short on Red and I would be more than happy to give you a couple of dollars, right Red?"

"Right." he replied gruffly behind his paper, "A couple as in two. If you need it, we'll loan you two dollars, Jackie."

"Red!" Kitty scolded with wide eyes.

Red lowered his paper to look at his wife, "Kitty, you said a couple. A couple means two."

"Honestly Red, how can you expect her to get a nice Christmas tree with two dollars?"

Before Red had the chance to answer Kitty's question, Jackie swiftly stepped in the middle of the married couple's conversation, not wanting it to turn into a bigger argument especially since it would all be traced back to her. It was the holidays, there wasn't supposed to be any fights—plus if the fight was traced back to her, that wouldn't result any good gifts for her from the Forman's or Jolly Ol' St. Nick.

"No, no Mrs. Forman, it's not money. Really. I can afford to buy my own tree, that's not the problem." She informed and the small frown indented on Kitty's forehead made Jackie sigh a bit before she continued on, "It's actually getting the tree that I can't do. I mean tying it on the car, lugging it into my apartment…I can't do that! That's lumberjack work! And…the only lumberjack I know is over in stupid Madison."

Catching the saddened—with a hint of anger—tone the young woman spoke in with that last sentence, Kitty could tell Jackie was missing her best friend and placed a comforting arm around her small shoulders, "I'm sure you could find someone else to help you go get your tree, Jackie."

"Like who?" Jackie asked, sounding more like she was challenging Kitty to come up with a name.

"Well like…" she started to struggle when she remembered the first persons she was going to suggest was also off in far away Madison—her poor baby boy!—quickly she switched her attention back to Jackie and finding her a little Christmas tree helper, "I know! Why don't you take Michael or Fez? I'm sure they could be very helpful…well if you took only one of them and not together." She finished with a nervous Kitty laugh.

Jackie wasn't sold and instead shook her head, "I thought about that but I don't think it would work with either one of them. Michael would probably make me get one of those gigantic trees that won't even fit in my apartment and Fez has been a living breathing Christmas radio station since December first and I really don't wanna deal with that."

While Red lightly chuckled at the images Jackie had painted, that could very well become a reality if she did take either of the morons, Kitty continued to try to figure out someone who could go along with Jackie to get her tree…And then it her!

"Oh, oh! I know!" Kitty said excitedly, moving her arm away from Jackie so that she could have both hand free to gesture and move around (as if that would help sell Jackie on her newest idea, "You could take Steven with you!"

The brunette only shook her head at the smiling mother hen, "I don't know, Mrs. Forman. I mean things with me and Steven have gotten better but whenever it's just the two of us it always ends up feeling awkward and weird."

"Oh but Jackie, it's the holidays! It's the time to feel awkward and weird." A giggling Kitty added on, "Besides it'll be so much fun, think about it. You two will be able to talk without any interruptions, you could talk about anything! And because it's so cold out, you might have to cuddle together to keep warm. Doesn't that just sound so romantic? Oh! I can make cocoa!"

Jackie had been shaking her head throughout Kitty's mini monologue, her eyes getting bigger and bigger the more she heard, "Mrs. Forman, Steven and I are not back together."

Kitty laughed, "Well not yet honey, but if you take him with you to buy your Christmas tree…."

"Kitty." Red interrupted in a warning tone, "Stop meddling."

"I am not meddling." She determinedly replied, "I am simply _suggesting_ that Jackie take Steven with her to go get her Christmas tree."

"And she declined your suggestion so drop it." He said, his words sounding more like an order; never noting the small little grateful smile Jackie was sending him. The truth was though, he hadn't done it all for Jackie or even for Steven, he did it for himself too. A meddling Kitty was bad enough to deal with but a meddling Kitty during the holidays—he'd never get any peace! And while many were wishing for peace on earth this time of year, Red Forman would be happy with just a day of peace in hi house.

"The girl can find someone else to go with her to buy her Christmas tree. Someone who isn't part of the Dumbass Duo. And someone who isn't Steven." He went on, making sure to add that last part.

His wife put her hands up in an 'I give up' manner, "Okay fine. But if it's not Steven or Michael or Fez or Donna or Eric, since they're over in Madison, that only leaves one person left. And do you know who that person is?"

"Who?" a confused voice mixed with another voice that sounded less interested.

Kitty grinned, "You."

"See? It all worked…" Red stopped mid sentence when he finally registered what had actually been said; his newspaper was crunched down and he swung his frowning bald head to where the two women stood, "What?"

Happily, Jackie clasped her hands together, "Mrs. Forman, that's a great idea!" she turned to the man on the sofa, "Mr. Forman, will you go with me to help me get my Christmas tree?"

He exhaled a bit heavily, "Look Jackie, I would but I won't." he said flat out causing Jackie's smile to follow a similar action.

"Why not?" she asked in a hurt little voice.

Wearing a frown and putting her hands on her hips, Kitty was also interested to hear his explanation, "Yes, Red why not?"

Red looked at the two women struggling for a reply; their unhappy looks—Jackie with her close to tears expression and the scowl on Kitty's face as giving him flashbacks to the days of her menopause—were not helping at all. He cleared his throat hoping to buy some time, maybe get them to drop the whole thing, but it didn't and they just stood there. Waiting.

"You see…I…there's no…Damn it Kitty!" he suddenly cursed angrily, "I already got you your tree and hung up the damn lights outside. I'm done with my Christmas duties until December twenty fifth. Jackie, just do what Kitty said and take Steven."

"Steven's not gonna want to go, Mr. Forman, you know that." Jackie protested.

"Don't worry about that. If I have to I'll go down there, have a talk with him and let him know that he's taking you to get your Christmas tree and if he doesn't he'll be getting a Christmas foot in the ass from me."

Jackie moved her head from left to right, "I don't want him to be threatened into it either, it'll just make things worse. Can't you just go with me? Please?"

"Jackie…" Red groaned.

Bringing in reinforcements, Jackie clasped her hands together turned bright eyes into sad puppy dog ones and for piece de resistance push out her lower lip, "Pretty please?"

Red had turned away as soon as he saw Jackie getting into place. He'd known what she was up to, Laurie had a similar game plan and as far back as he could remember it had always worked—even once getting him out to the stores on Christmas Eve to buy her some Suzie Talks A Lot Doll she had decided she wanted at the last minute. As Red tried to avoid eye contact with Jackie by focusing on the off TV set, Kitty took one look at her and had become a fallen victim to the sad brown eyes.

"Oh Red, look at the poor dear. You've got to go help her." his wife insisted, "I mean it's not like we let her go off and get the tree by herself. She's so tiny, she might try to load it up onto her car and it could fall on top of her squishing her like a little bug."

Not saying a word about her being compared to a bug, Jackie nodded her head from her spot beside Kitty but Red still hadn't been won over so Kitty went on.

"And," her tone becoming a bit playful, "if you do go with Jackie to get her Christmas tree, when you get back home I'll be waiting for you under the mistletoe with a big mug of hot cocoa."

Slowly Red turned his head to see his wife smiling and raising her eyebrows up at him—another thing he never could say no to.

"Fine." He grumbled.

Though the word had barely been audible both Jackie and Kitty had heard it, and so there was no going back now. Jackie once again merrily clapped her hands together not seeming to mind the old people kiss she had to witness between the couple she saw as her second set of parents. However, not wanting to take the risk of them forgetting she was hear and turning their kiss into something else, she quickly spoke up causing the pair to break apart.

"So when can we go?"

Red looked at his watch, "It's still early, we can take off now and…"

"Now? As in now, now?" Jackie asked hoping she'd heard wrong, "I can go now. I'm not dressed for it!"

"Jackie, we're just going to pick out a Christmas tree." Red reminded, trying to stay calm.

The brunette gave a strong nod, "Exactly. This dress does not say that I'm going to buy my Christmas tree." She explained and ignored Red's eye roll as she stepped closer to the door she'd come through earlier, "I'll just home and change and I'll be back in about two hours or so…"

"The stores'll all be closed by then."

"Oh." said Jackie before she gave a quick shoulder shrug, "Well then we'll go tomorrow which actually works out much better. Now I can go to the mall and buy these boots that I saw that are perfect for going to get a Christmas tree!"

After that squeal of excitement Jackie bounced out of the room leaving a frowning Red and a smiling Kitty who was trying to hold in a laugh.

"Kitty," Red began, "you better change that hot cocoa to a cold beer."

She rubbed her hand on his arm as she nodded and bit her lip to help keep a straight face, "I'll get the mistletoe ready."

0o0o0o

"Alright Jackie what's your spending limit on this?" Red asked as he sat behind the wheel of the Toyota—Jackie seated beside him in the passenger's seat.

"I don't know. Forty, fifty dollars. However much Christmas tress cost. I brought my checkbook." she happily informed but the shocked, yet still frowning, look on Red's face put a damper her own smile, "Do they not take checks?"

Red frowned still as he continued to drive, "No Jackie, _you_ don't take checks to buy a Christmas tree. You can't pay forty or fifty dollars for a dead tree."

"It's a Christmas tree, Mr. Forman not a dead tree." Jackie reminded.

"It's a dead tree, Jackie." came Red's dry reply, "When it's in the ground it's alive but as soon as it's cut down it's good as dead."

The finely shaped eyebrows knitted closely together as Jackie thought over the words, "Huh. I never thought of it that way."

"When it comes to buying the tree you don't walk in there with your money ready, you walk in there ready to haggle and get that sale price down to the lowest price you can." Red's lesson in Christmas tree buying continued on.

"I don't know, Mr. Forman." Jackie said sounding a bit uncertain, "I mean I've bought things on sale before and good sales too, but I just take whatever price is listed. I've never haggled before."

A smug smirk started to form onto the older man's lips, though he tried to keep it unseen by keeping his focus on the road, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing I came with you after all. You know the first Christmas tree we had at the house I got for five dollars."

"Really?" she asked, clearly impressed, "Maybe I should take you with me to do my Christmas shopping too."

Red's face quickly flattened at that idea, "Let's concentrate on the Christmas tree first, Jackie."

Jackie nodded her head in agreement and began to settle back against her seat, taking a moment to look out the car windows and gaze at the winter wonderland outside. Everything was covered in the blanket of soft snow, and Jackie wouldn't have it any other way. She smiled at the children playing and throwing snowballs at each other and the bundled up adults scurrying to find warmth, she even noticed the precut Christmas tree lot on the right side of the road but didn't think anything of it until she felt the vehicle pull towards its direction.

"Wait, we're going to a precut Christmas tree lot?" She asked sitting up straighter in her seat, "We're getting a _precut_ Christmas tree?"

"That's usually the kind of Christmas trees they have in a precut Christmas tree lot." Red answered back while pulling into the parking lot and looking for an empty spot.

When the sound of silence followed his remark Red should have been happy that the conversation was over and he'd even gotten the last word; however this was The Loud One who didn't get the nickname by sitting quietly in the corner. She was always not only the one who had most of the words but the one whoalways had the last word too. Frowning some, he turned his head to find the small brunette looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

"Jackie…" he started to say and was relieved when she began to speak on her own, saving him from actually asking what was wrong.

"I guess I just thought we were gonna go get a real one. Cut it down and everything."

This time Red didn't bother to hesitate when he asked, "Why?"

"I don't know." she gave a soft shrug, "That's the way we used to get our Christmas trees when I was little. Daddy would chop it down."

"Jack Burkhart would chop down his own Christmas tree?" Red asked in disbelief.

"Yup. Daddy was always busy even during the holidays but he always made sure that he was the one who got our Christmas tree." Jackie shared, her smile growing as she recalled the fond memory, "We always went to the same Christmas tree farm that was just a few miles outside of down. It would be just the two of us too. I would pick out the tree and Daddy would cut it down. I remember watching him chop down that big tree and thinking he was the strongest, greatest man alive…you think some funny things when you're a kid huh?"

Red knew that remark was referring to Jack Burkhart still being in prison and how she probably no longer thought of him as that strong, great man. The way Jackie thought of her father now was probably closer to the truth of what kind of man Jack Burkhart was, but she was still his daughter and Red couldn't imagine how he would feel if he ever found out that Laurie no longer saw him as strong rock she could turn to when she needed him. Part of him wanted to tell this to Jackie, talk to her more about her father and how sometimes fathers did make mistakes, but then another part of him, the bigger part, hated this mushy feeling crap. Even if it was the holidays.

"It's been awhile since I've talked to him. I don't hate him I just miss being able to see him that way, you know?" she asked looking up just in time to see the Toyota glide past an empty slot, "Mr. Forman, you just drove past a great spot."

"I know." Red replied his eyes staying straight ahead, "I don't want to be driving around for hours so you better remember the name of that damn Christmas tree farm."

Immediately a grin as bright as Christmas lights appeared on Jackie's face and she had to hold back the urge to throw her arms around Red for hug. She knew that Red Forman didn't do hugs and though that usually didn't stop her before she had a good feeling that if she did it this time he'd turn the car around and slide it into that empty parking space.

0o0o0o

And so after Jackie shared the name of the Christmas tree farm that she and her father used to visit years ago, along with route she could recall them taking to get there, Red drove the two of them to the new destination that Jackie thrilled to see was still open and thriving with business. They rented the supplies needed to cut down the tree, both the saw and sled, and then began the hunt for Jackie's Christmas tree.

Kringle's Christmas Tree Farm was a very big farm that went on for not just yards but miles, with hundreds of trees scattered all around. Everywhere you looked there were trees varying in size, shape, and even color. However, as the owner had been kind enough to point out, some of the best trees would be found way further out and for Jackie Burkhart it was either get the best or go home.

It had taken almost an hour for Jackie and Red to slush through the snow and make it to the patch of golden Christmas trees and since getting there another hour had passed as Jackie tried to decided which tree to buy, getting only a bit of help from an impatient looking Red.

"What about this one?" he asked, his tone dragging and showing how tired he was of asking this question.

Jackie looked at the tree for a few seconds but shook her head, "Too small."

"This one?"

"Too big." She quickly replied with her nose wrinkled with disapproval.

Red exhaled loudly, "Jackie, a tree's a tree. Just pick one."

"Mr. Forman, I can't pick _any_ tree. This is a very important decision." Jackie started and explanation that was safe to bet would be a long one, "See right now my apartment is decorated with the perfect combination of classy, fun, and most of all Jackie. The tree I decide in there has to have that same combination or it'll stick out like Eric at a hardware store. Of course, it can't have too much of those things either or it'll be the main focus of my apartment and I'm always the main focus of my apartment."

"Fine." grumbled Red, although he'd really only been half listening, he pointed hand to a tree in the near distance, "How about that one?"

The brunette's frown grew more and more the longer she looked at it, "Not enough branches."

"That one over there?" he suggested, gesturing to another nearby tree.

"Too many branches."

"I'll trim off the extra branches." Red offered almost too quickly, hoping she'd say yes.

For quite a few seconds Jackie stood there staring at the tree, her head tilting this way and that, trying decide if that was a deal worth taking or not. Then she finally made her choice and she turned from the tree to look back at Red.

"Nah." She declined the offer with another head shake.

With a muffled, 'jeeze' Red ran his left hand over his face, "Now I understand the pain my father felt when we came to get our tree."

"You had a Christmas tree when you were little?" Jackie asked, sounding a little too surprised.

Red scowled, "I'm not that old."

"Oh yeah, I know." she swiftly said, trying to correct herself, "I meant..."

"I know what you meant, Jackie." He interrupted her with his reassurance; he cleared his throat before sharing a Christmas memory of his own, "Back when I was a kid, my family came out and got our Christmas tree this way too." he frowned at the memory, "What a disaster that was. It started off with my mother complaining about how much we had to walk, then it was Marty being a wimp and whining about the cold, and after that my father took over and gripped about everything from the price of the other trees to the way I held the saw."

"Is that why you and Mrs. Forman never cut down your own Christmas tree?" Jackie questioned, with all the old fashioned family traditions she knew the Formans had she always wondered why chopping down their own tree wasn't one of them.

"That's part of the reason." Red replied and added on to make his answer more gruff, "The other part is Kitty never mentioned it before and I wasn't about to be the one to bring it up."

Jackie smiled and giggled a little until she realized something that replaced her amusement with worry, "But you're okay with coming with me to get a tree here, right?"

"Listen Jackie, my old man hated coming out to chop down our tree but he still did it year after year. It was always the same grumbling over the prices and how I still wasn't holding the saw the right way—this was after I'd gone and come back from Korea." He made sure to throw in, "But every year until he died he went out and got our family tree, so I guess he didn't hate as much as I thought he did."

The grin on Jackie's face reappeared as soon as she heard his words that told her that he didn't hate it as much as she thought he did. She was about to reply to his statement when suddenly something a few feet away caught her attention.

"Oh my god!" she said gleefully before hurrying over to one of the snow covered trees, "This is it! This is my tree! Isn't it cute? Just like me!"

Red couldn't help but smirk at the girl's excitement, "Looks like a good choice, Jackie. Now stand back so I can get to work."

"Get to work, on what?" Jackie asked fearfully.

"On cutting down the tree."

In the next second Jackie had gone from standing beside the tree to standing right in front of it, her feet firm on the ground and her arms spread open trying to protect the tree.

"No wait!" came her outburst, "You can't cut it down."

"Jackie, how else are we gonna get it out of here and into your apartment?" Red reasoned, keeping he saw ready in his hands.

She turned her head to the side to look behind her and eye the tree she wanted, "Oh yeah. What if we got a shovel instead? We could dig it out!" seeing the unconvinced expression written on Red's face Jackie knew that digging up the tree by the roots would not be an option, she sighed, "Mr. Forman, we can't cut down this tree. You said the cut trees are dead and we can't kill this tree, it's too perfect!"

"Alright let me get this straight." Red began to say, wanting to make sure he understood the things that were giving him a headache, "You don't want a precut tree you want to cut one down, but you don't want to cut down this one, the only tree you actually like out of this whole damn tree farm?"

"Uh huh." she answered nervously.

"Jackie, are you sure you even want a Christmas tree?" he asked and she nodded again causing him to close his eyes and sigh, "Believe it or not, I think I might have a solution."

0o0o0o

"Oh come on now it's not that hard, just put one foot in front of the other. It won't be so bad, I promise."

"Mrs. Forman," Hyde groaned as he dragged himself up to more of the stairway's steps, "You said I had to drop you off here, you didn't say I had to get down and actually go up there. Can't I just go back home?"

Kitty nodded from her spot four stair steps away from her adoptive son, "Well I suppose you could go back home but the cookies and cocoa will be staying here."

She was referring to the plate of sugar cookies and large checkerboard patterned thermos of hot cocoa that she held in her hands, Hyde had been smelling the heavenly aromas for the past hour at home and in the car but hadn't even been allowed a quick sample of either because they were for when she went to Jackie's. Now there were plenty of other things that Hyde would rather do than spend an evening in his ex-girlfriend's apartment with his surrogate parents but when cookies and cocoa were added to the mix, Hyde was sure not even Old Ebenezer Scrooge could turn those two things down.

Wordlessly Hyde dropped his shoulders and climbed the remaining steps to meet up with a grinning, giggling Kitty.

"Oh, I am just so excited to see the tree that Jackie got!" she giddily shared, "You know she and Red left to go get it at ten in the morning and it wasn't until an hour ago that they called and told me they got it. That's eight hours shopping for a tree! It's must be something!" she ended with one of her infamous giggles.

While they walked up a few more steps together, Hyde didn't look as thrilled, "I don't know Mrs. Forman, eight hours shopping with Jackie, I'd be more concerned about Red's condition than the tree's."

"Steven." Kitty scolded slightly though after a beat her face showed her true concern as she spoke truthfully. "I am."

Hyde let out a small chuckle but when they soon reached Jackie's apartment door Kitty sent him a pointed look making him stifle his laugh. Using the hand that held the thermos of cocoa, Kitty knocked on the door and seconds later a muffled feminine voice called out 'It's open!' This time Hyde took it upon himself to reach over and open the door for the older woman who had her hands full.

When they entered the apartment that had once been shared by Fez and Kelso and then by Fez and Jackie but was now owned by Jackie herself (she used the spare room as an extra closet for her shoes and clothes) they found Jackie standing by the kitchen bar while Red sat on her sofa watching TV. While Hyde took his time in slipping into the room, Kitty wasted no time in rushing in and looking for the new tree; she practically ran in to the place, her eyes looking all around the living area.

"Oh let me see the tree! Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" she asked until noticed there was no tree in sight, she frowned and her tone changed to a less excited one, "Where is it?"

Smiling Jackie held her hands together and walked up from behind the counter, "We wanted to wait for you to be here before we put it up."

"Well isn't that sweet?" Kitty asked with another laugh.

Jackie continued to smile and nodded her head before looking over at Red who had at some point had gotten up from the sofa and walked over to the blank wall between the two bedrooms doors, "Okay, Mr. Forman."

Wearing neither a smile nor a frown Red reached down in to the very large cardboard box that was at his feet. It took him a few seconds but soon he pulled out of the box and up into a standing position, a seven foot Christmas tree.

"Tada!" she exclaimed to her guests while keeping her hands open and in presenting form.

Her guests however didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm. Hyde scanned his eyes up and down the 'tree' from behind his shades and Kitty had to blink her eyes several time to get herself to believe that sight she'd just witnessed of her husband pulling out a Christmas tree from a _cardboard box_.

"You…you bought a fake Christmas tree?" Kitty asked not quite sure what to make of this.

"No, no." the younger woman shook her head as she corrected Kitty, "It's _artificial_. Burkharts don't buy anything fake."

Hyde smirked, "Yeah, it's fake."

"Artificial." Jackie repeated through gritted teeth.

"Jackie, honey, what made you get a fa…artificial Christmas tree?" Kitty asked before Hyde could get in a word.

"It wasn't what I had planned at first. See, first Mr. Forman drove to one of those precut Christmas tree lots but then I told him how Daddy used to take me to chop down a real Christmas tree when I was little so we went to Kringles Christmas Tree Farm. The same place Daddy and I would go to only it's gotten bigger but shabbier too, it took me forever to find a decent looking tree." Jackie rambled on in her answer to the mother hen's question, "And when I finally found a tree I didn't want it to be cut down because Mr. Forman said that's how you kill Christmas trees. So then Mr. Forman came up with this solution a fak…artificial Christmas tree!"

Jackie gazed at her new tree as she went on, "It doesn't look too bad, it kinda looks real if you squint a little. Plus this tree will last me a good few years which means I'll have a little extra money every Christmas to spend on presents for me and the people who are lucky enough to get presents from me. Oh and the store had some of these too, smell!"

Grabbing a few thing little green sticks off the counter, Jackie held them up for Kitty to sniff.

"Oh my! That smells so…piney!" she laughed and Jackie nodded along when suddenly Kitty found another pro for having an artificial tree, "Oh and you know, having this artificial tree means you don't have to deal with those pesky little pine needles. This really was a good idea dear. Red…"

"Don't even think about, Kitty." Red warned as he stepped away from the undecorated tree.

Kitty smiled at Jackie, "Well I guess there's always next year."

Returning the smile Jackie watched as Kitty followed Red into her kitchen. Once Kitty was gone Jackie turned towards the box of new ornaments she had bought while she and Red had been at the store buying her tree. She was trying to decide which ones to start with first the gold or the red, when she suddenly felt she was being watched. Slowly she turned around and found her ex-boyfriend standing less than a foot behind her, he'd been staring at her but when she caught him he moved his attention over towards the tree.

"So an artificial tree?"

"Yes Steven, an artificial tree." She said, sounding very defensive of her tree, "And before you say anything about it being tacky, last Monday you wore a white t-shirt and it's after Labor Day, who's the tacky one now?"

Hyde smirked at her outburst, "Jackie, I wasn't gonna say anything like that. The tree's pretty nice. Could've been worse. I saw a vision of pure pink."

"And fluffy?" she added with a tiny smile.

"Yeah and really fluffy." He agreed still smirking and causing her to laugh a bit, "But I think you staying away from the whole traditional real tree thing and doing your own thing instead…it's pretty cool."

Jackie's grin sprung into place, "Really? I mean…whatever." She said remembering her Zen though couldn't stop the little smile from playing on her lips, "Steven, do you wanna help me hang up some of the ornaments? It's kinda tall and I don't have a stepladder."

"Decorate a tree that's not gonna get sap on my hands?" he asked and seeing her nod made him to the same, "Cool."

A box of red ornaments was handed to him and Hyde gave Jackie a silent thank you with a smile before they both walked over to the tree each with a box of ornaments in their hands and began to contently hang the decorations up on various branches.

"Oh Red, isn't that cute?" Kitty asked as she watched the scene from afar.

"Uh huh." he replied though seemed more interested in the plate of cookies than anything else, "What's Steven doing here anyway?"

Untwisting the top of the thermos so she could pour the cocoa into the mugs she's gathered earlier, Kitty started to explain, "Well since Eric has the Vista Cruiser over in Madison with him and you took the Toyota with you, getting a ride from Steven was the only way I could get here without having to walk in this freezing cold." She abruptly stopped pouring the hot liquid into the third mug, "Which reminds me why _did_ you take the Toyota? You could have easily taken Jackie's car and then Steven wou…Oh Red Forman."

"What?" he asked after taking the first bite of the snowman shaped cookie.

"You little matchmaker you." Kitty said while grinning from ear to ear, "You took the Toyota on purpose. You knew you could have taken Jackie's car but then there would be no reason for Steven to have to give me a ride and he would have stayed at home instead of being here with Jackie."

Red scowled and tried to cut in, "Look Kitty…"

"Oh you're little Grinch heart did grow three times!" Kitty exclaimed before throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Fine. Maybe I did. But just don't go babbling about it to everyone alright?" he made sure she understood, "The last thing I want is the dumbasses forming a circle around me and holding hands while singing that creepy Whatville song."

Not bothering to correct him, Kitty only hugged her husband closer while watching the sweet little scene by the fak…artificial Christmas tree.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **And there you go! Your first Stocking Stuffer! What did you think? Hope you liked!_

_BTW How many Christmas Movie refernces did you spot in this one-Yes, i've been watching quite a few of them this past few weeks...okay since December 1st._

_Until next time, thanks of reading hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, have a nice day and remember only nine more days till Christmas! _


	2. Gingerbread

_**Disclaimer: **__I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of its characters. I do not own any of the other songs, movies, or characters from movies or other holiday specials. I own nothing!_

_**Author's Note: **__Hello all! How are you all? Hope you're doing well! Sorry about a bit of a late update meant to do it sooner but you know how busy it can get during the holiday season. Hope you all are having a good one! Thanks so much for all the wonderfully sweet reviews that you left on the first chapter, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it and are ready for more. Again though, I apologize for the length. This one is much shorter, lighter, maybe something easier to read between shopping and wrapping gifts lol I hope you all enjoy this one it's a non romantic pairing of course but one I don't think had been done before. So I hope you all like it! Please do feel free to leave a review if you have the chance, I'd love to hear your thoughts. You don't even have to be signed in. Thanks again for everything, please review if you can, hope you all like, and please, Enjoy!_

* * *

It was only few days before Christmas and Kitty Forman was where one would expect to find her during this holiday season, in the kitchen baking up a storm. While whisking up a bowl of white royal frosting, Kitty smiled, dancing a little to _'Here Comes Santa Claus'_ this time being sung by the famous Elvis Presley on the radio. Suddenly though, The King was interrupted by another familiar voice.

Behind Kitty's back, coming in from the basement's entrance was a figure who had pulled down the straw top hat on their head just enough to cover up their face, they made a few trumpet sounds in a tune Kitty knew she had heard before, before they began to sing aloud.

"_I'm Mister Brown Christmas. I'm Mister Fez_." he sang while stepping up and doing footwork that was very similar to the Miser Brothers and their minions, "_I'm Mister Candy Cane Eater. I even look like Desi Arnaz_." Fez lifted up his hat waving it up in the air a bit just as he recalled seeing Ricky Ricardo do, before continuing his song, "_Friends call me The Sexy Hot Foreigner, whatever I touch starts to melt in my clutch…I'm too much_!"

"Hello Fez, dear." Kitty greeted, never having turned around to catch even a tiny part of his routine.

Fez's face fell, "How did you know it as me?"

"Lucky guess." She replied with a small laugh causing the young man to nod understandingly.

"What do you think of my new hat, Miss. Kitty? It is an early Christmas gift from Kelso." Fez explained, moving his hat to once again cover his eyes a little, "First it reminded me of Rick Ricardo but the Miser Brothers are much more Christmas-y than _Babalu_."

Kitty giggled while nodding and reaching up to straighten the hat out, once she could see his brown eyes her smile grew, "I think makes you look very dashing, sweetie."

A grin stretched onto Fez's lips and because the compliment had made him so happy he didn't even bother to shift his hat back into the previous position he had it in before Kitty moved it. He liked how he had it before best because he thought it made him appear more mysterious and dangerous. Fez was about to go on about what made him want the hat in the first place when he got a whiff of a heavenly scent that wiped all thoughts from his mind.

"Oo there is something in here that smells deliciously sweet!" Fez noted with a big smile that got even bigger when he watched Kitty open the oven door and bend down to retrieve a cookie covered pan from inside. "Oh and she is making cookies too!"

Releasing a nervous little laugh Kitty placed the pan on the stove top and took off her oven mitt, "Well…thank you Fez. And you know I'm not just making cookies, I'm making gingerbread cookies for a gingerbread house."

Brown eyes filled with excitement, "Gingerbread house? You are speaking my language. That is my dream house. And one day I will live in a gingerbread house. It will have a M&M rooftop, a gumdrop walkway, licorice windows, and a room dedicated to chocolate!"

"Fez, honey, are you sure living in a gingerbread house is… a good idea?" Kitty asked, cautious not to burst the boy's bubble.

"It is not a good idea." He replied in a serious tone that soon became cheerful again, "It is the _best_ idea!"

Now Kitty didn't want to be the one to crush his childlike dream but letting him believe that he could one day be able to live in a house that was made of cookies and candy…that just couldn't be healthy. However, instead of coming right out and telling him this, she thought it might be better if he figured it out and changed his own mind on his own.

"But you know, when you live in a gingerbread house you have to be very careful and make sure that the birds don't peck on the bread and that you don't eat yourself homeless." She ended with a trademark laugh.

"That is true."Fez nodded appearing to be deep in thought, he never had thought about that, "I would also need to watch out for children who were left in the forest with only bread crumbs like Hansel and Gretel. Those sonsofbicthes. No wonder the evil witched wanted to eat them. You eat my house I eat you!"

Kitty frowned a little, "I didn't know your home country knew the story of Hansel and Gretel."

"They don't. But we do have the story of Gretel and Hansel but there is no evil witch or tasty house or bread crumbs. It is a story of two children who are left in the woods by their parents and then die. It is not a very good fairytale." He explained to her, "When I first came to America my host parents read me the fairy tales of America. My favorite was _The Gingerbread Man_."

"I bet your favorite character was The Gingerbread Man." Kitty guessed.

Fez moved his head to the left, "Nope! The Fox. Because he was the one who got to eat the cookie."

A heartfelt laugh escaped Kitty's lips and she shook her head lightly, realizing she should have known better. When she caught Fez looking at the tray of large house shaped cookies she got an idea.

She smiled warmly up at him, "Fez, would like to help me make the gingerbread house?"

"Really?" he asked, his eyes and voice bright with hope.

"Of course." Kitty answered with her smile still in place, "Now why don't you go sit down over at the table. I was just about to start so most of the things are already set up."

Not needing to be told twice Fez ripped off his hat, tossing it onto the kitchen bar and then rushed over to take a seat at the round white table that was covered with various materials needed to make a gingerbread house. Several bowls of colorful candy, white creamy frosting, and of course the actual gingerbread house pieces (or at least two of the pieces as the other two were the ones Kitty had just taken out of the oven and still needed to cool).

"Oh this is going to be so much fun!" Kitty bubbled with her own excitement as she gathered up a few more bowls of candies, "You know it's been years since I've had a gingerbread house helper. I thought about not making on this year but they're just too much fun not to… Fez!"

When Kitty turned back around towards the table her eyes caught sight of a not so welcomed scene. Fez had his head dipped back and his mouth wide open as he squeezed the plastic baggie of frosting straight into his mouth. Hearing his name, however caused him to move the baggie away and lift his head up.

"Sorry." He apologized with a guilty grin.

"It's okay. I'll…just make some more." she said before grabbing the bowl and baggie, "We have to wait for the other two cookie pieces to cool anyways. But Fez, honey, no more sampling or taste tasting any more frosting, cookies, or candy. Understood?"

Remembering Jackie's pouty face, Fez did his best to recreate it. He didn't do too much of a good job but it didn't matter since Kitty was busy working on the frosting.

"Not even a little…"

"Nope."

Fez looked at the table top of sweets that all seemed to be calling his name, the thought of not being able to eat any of them pained him and his face and voice showed it when he cried, "Aye no."

A few minutes, and several smacks on Fez's candy grabbing hands, later Kitty had not only been able to move most of the ingredients closer to her side of the table but she had also managed to build up and connect all four walls of the gingerbread house with the second batch of white frosting.

"We're almost done with the hard part, we just need to put the roof on and then the real fun starts. And you haven't tried to steal a candy in about…." she took a quick glance at her watch "Two minutes! I am so proud of you."

Fez smiled and nodded modestly, "Thank you."

"You know the less candy you eat while building the house the more extras you have left over and those you can eat right away." Kitty explained while carefully squeezing the frosting over the top edges of the house's front wall. "Could you hand me the…"

Kitty stopped mid sentence when she looked up from the candy house and saw Fez sitting right in front of her with one of the roof pieces in his mouth. He stared back at her looking like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar—only this was worse, you couldn't deny wanting a cookie if the cookie was in your mouth.

"I thought this was an extra." He said, hoping he sounded convincing enough.

She dropped the frosting onto the table and put her hands up, "Alright, that's it. Fez, dear I'm afraid this isn't working. Why don't you go down to the basement and I'll call you when…when…well when the house is finished, okay?"

"But I was helping." Fez said in a little voice, putting the bitten cookie back down.

"Eating the materials to make the house is not exactly helping now, is it?"

Looking down, Fez shook his head, "No."

Seeing how sad the poor boy looked made Kitty realize she may have been a bit too hard on him. She let out a small sigh before putting on her best smile and deciding to figure out a way that would give Fez a second chance, a chance he'd have a better time being successful with.

"Okay, okay." Kitty started to say, "Remember that dream gingerbread house of yours?"

He nodded.

"Well what if we make it?" she suggested but when she saw how fast his sadness switched into a holly jolly expression Kitty quickly threw in an important bit before Fez got any other ideas, "A model. _A model_ of your dream gingerbread house."

Though his excitement seemed to have faded a tad he was still very much intrigued, "Oo! Can we put in the hot fudge swimming pool too?"

"I suppose so." she answered, holding in giggle.

"Then I am in!" Fez proclaimed, "Let's build this bad boy!"

Almost two hours had passed but the gingerbread house of the model of Fez's dream gingerbread house was nearly done! It looked not only wonderful but wonderfully delicious as well even if one side of the roof had a hole where Fez has bit off a chunk from. The misshaped roof covered in M&M tiles, gumdrops lined the walk way leading up to the frosting and candy cane door, the windows' outline was made of red licorice, and in the back of the house was a large pool shaped puddle of fudge. And Fez had been so absorbed in decorating and constructing his house, he'd not only forgotten to sneak in some free samples but hadn't even noticed that he hadn't left any extra pieces of candy for later either.

"And…done!" announced Kitty, as she moved the frosting baggie away from the gingerbread house one last time.

Even though the house was based off the set up Fez had for his future home Kitty had put in one final, little, Kitty touch on the house. Above the front door she'd written in frosting, '_Home Sweet Home_.'

"It is perfect!" Fez said proudly grinning at their masterpiece, "Can we eat it now?"

Kitty's smile dropped some, "Oh no, not yet, sweetie. No one's seen it yet. We'll leave it here on the counter as a decoration so everyone can see it and in a day or two, if it's still good you can eat it."

"Decoration? What the hell?" he screeched out, obviously upset by the new piece of information, "You cannot eat a decoration…I have tired."

Frowning Kitty was about to ask how that had happened but Fez wasn't done with his outburst.

"All that good tasty candy…wasted! I will not stand for this! Good day!"

"But Fez…"

"I say good day!" he declared with an open raised palm, before yanking off a piece of the roof—and not the piece he'd already bitten into—and marching out of the kitchen while munching on his snack.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__And there you have it the second installment of "Stocking Stuffers" I hope you liked!_

_Incase you don't know the song Fez was singing to comes from The Miser Brothers Snow Miser and Heat Miser from the classic, 'The Year Without a Santa Claus' one of my favorite Christmas specials._

_Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, have a nice day, and remember only 5 more days till Christmas!_


	3. Lights

_**Disclaimer: **__I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or its characters. I do not own any other movie, TV series or special or characters from there that may be mentioned in this story. I don't own any songs mentioned r sang in this story. I own nothing._

_**Author's Note:**__ Hello everyone! How are you all doing? Hope you're doing well and getting ready for tomorrow! Can you believe Christmas is already here? Went by so fast didn't it? Well to help you all get ready for tomorrow I have for you a new installment for "Stocking Stuffers" This one is longer than the last but shorter than the first. It's sort of like one I had in my last collection but I loved doing that one and you all seemed to really enjoy it too so I did one like it but for Christmas. I hope you all enjoy it. Also thank you so very much for all the awesome support and wonderful reviews. It truly means a lot! I'm glad you are enjoying these stories, your words never fail to make me smile. There's still one more to go and while I don't think I'll be able to post it up by tomorrow (sorry) I do plan on having it up by the end of the week. Before I g onto the usual stuff I just want to take a moment to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and some very Happy, Happy Holidays! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review and lemme know what you think if you can—don't need to be signed in, doesn't need to be long. Thanks for everything, hope you like, and please, Enjoy!_

* * *

The blonde haired little girl hurried over to the living room. Her mother was busy in the kitchen and her father was still at work, she had the perfect opportunity to get a sneak peak at what she was getting for Christmas. She ran through her father's den and past the staircase, her mind set on those presents under the Christmas tree they had decorated two nights ago. Grinning at the memory of the largest present she'd seen under there and how it had her name on it, she knew exactly what present she was examining first!

Her present shaking plans were suddenly delayed when she reached the tree and found items that were even bigger than that big box with her name on it.

"What are you dumb babies doing under there?" she asked with her hands on her small hips, glaring down at the scene before her.

Underneath the tree among the wrapped gifts were her brother and his friend looking like complete losers as they lay on the ground their knees bent upwards, hand folded on their stomachs and heads looking up from under the lit tree.

"Looking at the lights." Her brother answered, never looking her way.

Frowning at how he'd made no argument about her calling them dumb babies as he usually did, she went on to ask, "Why?"

"It's peaceful." He explained, "And calming."

She scoffed at how weird he was and then looked at the curly haired boy lying beside him, he was weird too but not as weird as her brother it didn't make sense for him to be down there too, "What about you fuzzball? Why're you down there?"

Young Steven Hyde shrugged his shoulders his eyes, like Eric's, stay focused upwards at the decorated tree branches, "Forman, said I could stay in his room but with all his dolls just sitting there staring at you, this sounded less creepy."

"Action figures!" Little Eric reminded, in a raised voice.

Ignoring her younger brother's statement, Laurie nodded along with what Hyde had said. Those 'action figures' Eric had in his room were creepy, especially since he had them on the shelf right above his bed, she didn't know how he managed to sleep at night. However, despite understanding why Hyde was down under her Christmas tree, Laurie still didn't like him or Eric being down there—especially since they were taking time away from her present shaking time.

"Well get out." she ordered the pair, "Only presents go under the tree."

"If we pretend to be presents can we stay?" Eric asked, he really didn't want to move.

"No! Get out!"

Hyde nor Eric moved, they didn't even flinch and instead asked the simple question of "Why?"

"Because I said." Laurie argued as if that were a winning point, but neither one budged and so she threatened, "I'm telling Daddy!"

Despite her threat the boys still stayed in their places. Sure, it was blank threat since their father wasn't home, but they didn't know that. They should have moved…in fact with that threat they should have leapt up onto their feet and dashed up the stairs but they didn't. They just laid there gazing up at the tree from underneath. Whatever they were looking at must have really been something.

The next thing Laurie knew she was doing, she was sitting on the floor beside her brother.

"Scoot over." she grumbled and Eric scooted closer to Hyde who had also moved over an inch or two to his left.

Laurie laid her head down under the tree, her blonde hair fanning around her and against the red cotton tree skirt. Her blue eyes instantly focused on the sight above her, it was nothing like she had ever seen before. Sure she had seen plenty of Christmas trees before but she'd never seen them from this view. It was beautiful. All the ornaments hanging and though she couldn't see them perfectly, because they were family ones put up year after year she could easily identify each and every one of the ones she saw. The multicolored lights of red, blue, yellow, and green shining bighting like little diamonds. And underneath there, the Christmas-y smell of pine was stronger than ever.

"Wow." She breathed softly.

Eric tuned his head to his sister and smirked, "Told you."

"I wasn't wowing because of that, twerp." Laurie snarled back, "I was wowing because I can't believe that you two weirdos have been down here all this time looking that _this_."

Not liking his sister's words or the way his best friend was snickering beside him, Eric gave a deep frown. He liked being down here and he wasn't going to let anyone ruin it for him, especially not his sister.

"If you guys don't like it, you don't have to stay here." He reminded.

"And leave you down here looking dumb by yourself?" Hyde asked and then shook his head, "Friends don't do that to friends, man." He paused letting a smirk break onto his lips as he continued "At least not during the holidays."

Laurie shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah and I was bored anyways."

Hearing his best friends reply had made Eric smile but when he heard his sister say that she would be staying too, his smile doubled in size and happiness.

For several minutes the trio just laid under the tree in a comfortable silence, looking up at the lights and ornaments almost captivated by the colors. They didn't fight, they didn't name call, they didn't even speak at all. There was no need to talk when it was much nicer to sit in the silence and enjoy the other's silent company.

"Hey Laurie," Eric said breaking that contented moment of silence, "What's your favorite part about Christmas?"

"The presents." She answered right away in a 'isn't it obvious?' kind of tone.

The two boys smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

The response she got made Laurie frown as she turned to her right, her blue eyes focused past her brother and at his friend "How would you know anything about presents? I bet your mom doesn't even realize it's Christmas. You don't get presents let alone good ones."

Hyde's small smile quickly diminished when he heard the older girl's words and though Eric hadn't seen this he wasted no time in jumping in to defend him.

"Laurie, that's not nice!" Eric scolded and then turned his head to look at Hyde—just missing the eye roll from Laurie—"Hyde, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Forman. You're not the one who's gonna get coal in their stocking." He said his voice sounding beyond calm and more…Zen.

Knowing the words were directed at her Laurie's scowl deepened, "I'd rather get pieces of coal from Santa than not get anything from him at all like you."

"Laurie! That's not true! Hyde, don't listen to her, you're gonna get presents from Santa." Eric told his friend; he seemed more upset than Hyde.

"It's okay, man. Besides, she might be on to something." Hyde said still staring upwards, he couldn't see their confused, concerned frowns but he could imagine them and so he went on but never looked their way, "Santa Claus has missed my house the past two years."

"Really?" Laurie questioned, thinking he was just trying to make her feel bad.

Hyde nodded.

"But Hyde, why would he do that?" Eric asked completely baffled by all of this, "Are…are you on the Naughty List?" he asked, whispering the last two words in a fearful way.

The other boy shrugged, "Don't know." he replied "Didn't think so but if it's happened two times…I guess I must be."

Eric stared at his friend, who was still avoiding eye contact by looking straight ahead instead of turning his head like Eric and Laurie, he looked so sad and that made Eric sad. It was Christmas time though, no one should be sad at Christmas time—that's what his mom had always told him.

He rapidly shook his head, "No Hyde. I know you, you're my friend. You're a good guy…most of the time. If Laurie's not on the Naughty List than you're not either."

"Hey!" Laurie shouted but was paid no attention.

"There's gotta be another reason for why Santa's missed your house." Eric decided out loud before trying to think up a reasonable explanation; it took him awhile but this wasn't a common problem he'd heard about and he had needed to really think about it, "Maybe it's cuz you don't have a chimney at your house."

Hyde shook his head, "That's not it. You think a fat guy like Santa can get through your little chimney? He's gotta have another way in."

"Maybe it's because you call him fat." Laurie threw out, not really trying to help though.

While Laurie threw in her two cents, Eric tried to come up with another reason that could replace the previous one he'd given and Hyde had shot down. This time it came to him a bit quicker and he smiled proudly for thinking of it.

"Maybe it's cuz your house isn't decorated outside with all the lights and stuff like ours is. Dad says that's why we put all the light up outside, so Santa can see our house at night."

"If that's it then I guess it'll be year three this year." said Hyde before explaining, "My mom said we weren't putting lights up outside because it's a waste of money on the electricity bill."

Both Laurie and Eric frowned, electricity bill? You had to pay for electricity? They thought it came with the house. Meanwhile, Hyde could sense the other two's confusion and he envied them a bit, they didn't know about the grown up worries they could still be lighthearted kids. Not wanting to confuse them more he kept the part about how the only Christmas decoration at his house was a little tree he'd saved up for and bought himself—for all he knew they might have thought little elves came and planted the tree in their living room.

"Maybe he's scared." Laurie suddenly spoke up.

Her random statement made Hyde frown and though his head stayed in place, he looked at the girl from the corner of his eye, waiting for her to explain.

"Santa Claus, I mean." she clarified, "Maybe he's scared of your mom and that's why he doesn't go to your house."

Hyde thought over the idea, it made sense. And while he was a bit relieved that it might not be his fault he didn't get presents from Santa Claus, this new reason didn't make things all that much better. He moved his eyes back to the light covered tree branches and let out a sigh.

"Guess that means no more presents from Santa for me." he concluded.

Eric sadly looked at his friends, feeling pity for him, but Laurie had a different response.

"Oh stop being a crybaby." She said sounding annoyed, "You're gonna get your presents from Santa."

"How do you know?" Hyde asked once again sounding Zen.

Turning to his left Eric frowned slightly, "Yeah, how do you know Laurie?"

"Because I'm older." Laurie answered as if that were reason enough, "I know more things. I know bad. I'm bad. You Hyde, you're not that bad. You're not on the Naughty List and you're gonna get your gifts from Santa Claus, even if you don't get them at your house and get them somewhere else like here."

Eric's eyes lit up at his sister's idea and he swung his head to the other side to look at Hyde, "Yeah Hyde! You can get your gifts from Santa here! When me and Laurie leave out the milk and cookies for him we'll write him a note that tells Santa to leave your gifts here and in the morning you can come over and get them!"

Finally Hyde moved his head and looked to his right, "You guys would do that?"

"Yeah!" Eric grinned.

Laurie shrugged and gave a nonchalant, "Sure."

"Thanks." He said in a sincere tone and a smile on his lips; he was still wearing that smirk when he joined the two siblings and looked back up at the tree above them, "So Forman, what's your favorite part of Christmas?"

"I like the lights." Eric was quick to say, "They're all over the place and they're all pretty and colorful. But my favorite are the ones on the Christmas tree. If you squint your eyes and look at them they look like little stars."

He then squinted his eyes to where they were almost closed and gazed up at the lights seeing them as different colored little stars not light bulbs. Not being able to help their curiosity both Laurie and Hyde followed Eric's actions, looking at the lights and squinting their eyes to try and see these 'stars.' Not long after they narrowed their eyes they saw what he saw.

"Wow."

"They kinda do."

Eric's smile grew when he heard there amazement. They continued to stare at the lights through squinted eyes, enjoying the starry visions until Laurie started to talk.

"What about you Pig-pen?" she asked Hyde, "You have a favorite part of Christmas?"

Hyde opened his eyes to normal size as he began his own sharing, "Christmas is too commercialized. It's all about the government trying to make money by telling you to spend money on things you don't need but think you do. It's about people going to Church for one day out of the year. And when it's all over the only thing anyone cares about is finding out who got the better gifts this year." he made a pause in his rant and tried his best to hold in a smile as he added, "But the cookies are pretty good."

"Yeah." Eric agreed—mostly with the cookie part.

"Mom just put some in the oven, they should be out now." Laurie informed.

"Really?" Hyde asked, already knowing that Mrs. Forman made the best Christmas cookies in Point Place.

Laurie nodded.

"We should go get some." Eric suggested.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

However, in spite of the suggestion and the replies that followed all three children stayed in their spots under the tree as if they didn't want to move from there.

"Mmm…maybe later."

"Yeah." Laurie and Hyde said together.

That was the last thing said before the group fell back into their warm, comfy, atmosphere of peace and quiet under the Christmas tree.

0o0o0o

"Whose dumb idea was this?"

"Well since we were the ones who found you under here, I'd say you Miss Cindy Lou Who." Eric said while smirking at his sister lying beside him on his right.

Laurie rolled her eyes, "I only came down here to get away from you morons and your moron friends."

"Hey don't forget your married to one of those morons." Her adopted brother on her right reminded her.

"Ugh, thanks for reminding me." she groaned back still scowling, "What're you two doing down here anyway?"

Hyde shrugged, "Getting away from your moron husband and Kelso."

"And our girlfriends." Eric added "They're not exactly in the Christmas spirit right now."

"Wait a minute, I can understand you being scared of your abominable snowwoman." Laurie said looking at Eric before swinging her head to look at Hyde, "But you? You're married to an elf. How scary can she be?"

"Pretty scary when she's trying to find out what I got her for Christmas." He explained.

A stillness fell over them, the same kind of comforting, trouble free, and argument free silence that they had when they were younger and laying under the Christmas tree just like they were doing now. This time though Laurie was in the middle with Eric on her left and Hyde on her right. But no matter the order that they were in each time they laid like this—and they done so a handful of times over the years—there was a strange but welcoming peaceful feeling that they found down there that made them feel like carefree kids again.

"I remember there being more room down here." Hyde stated, shifting a little in his spot.

Eric smirked, "Maybe it's because before Laurie was just one of Santa's 'Hos' and not the size of him."

"Shut up!" the young blonde woman screeched, stomping her foot on her brother's while putting a protective hand over the reason she could pass for Santa Claus this year—her unborn baby in her growing belly.

While Eric howled in pain Laurie smirked with satisfaction and Hyde chuckled; not so much at Eric's pain but because of a memory that had suddenly made its way into his mind.

"Hey Laurie, remember when Forman used to say if you looked at the lights on the tree and squinted your eyes they looked like little stars?"

"Haha yeah." she laughed, "Loser."

"Hey you guys agreed with me! You saw it too! And they still do!" he then proceeded to squeeze his eyes and look up at the multicolored lights but when he heard those around him laughing he stopped and decided to make a point about someone who hadn't been talked about yet, "What about you Hyde?'

"What about me?" he asked now having mastered his Zen.

"You Mr. Christmas is Commercialized." Eric began to say, "You've gotten soft, you care about a lot more things including Christmas and it's commercialization."

Hyde frowned, "No I haven't."

"Then why have you spent every day these past two weeks looking for the perfect Christmas gift for Jackie?" Laurie inquired.

"How did you…" Hyde stopped midsentence when the answer dawned on him, "Mrs. Forman. Look, the only reason I've spent so much time looking for a good—_not perfect_—gift for Jackie is because she's an elf who kicks hard if I get her something she doesn't like."

Eric shook his head, "I don't think so. It sound to me like Mr. Warlock's heart has melted."

"Shut up." Hyde barked back.

Stifling a laugh Eric did as he was told and went back to enjoying nice familiar moment with his sister and adopted brother.

"You know, it's always so peaceful down here." Laurie said aloud, looking up ahead.

Hyde nodded, "And calming."

"Yeah." Eric agreed until he realized what was being said, "Wait a minute that's what I said!"

"You did?"

Laurie frowned, "When?"

"Wh…when? Um almost every year that we've done this!" Eric replied no longer looking at the branches above him, "Including the first year!"

"I don't remember that." Laurie replied.

Hyde shook his head, "Me either."

"Okay fine! Say what you want but I know I said it. You both know I said it and the ornaments know I said it!" he declared pointing up at the ornaments that were visible from where they lay. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go get some sugar cookies _for me."_

Neither Hyde nor Laurie budged and neither did Eric. He wanted to get up but he couldn't tear himself away from the space; he didn't even feel as angry as he should while he lay down there. Maybe this what everyone needed every once in awhile a few minutes under a brightly lit Christmas tree.

"Eh, I'll get 'em later." He informed but made sure to throw in, "But they'll still be _for me_."

"Maybe Mom will bring some out to us." Laurie said, reminding her brothers of the event that occasionally happened when they were busy with this little tradition of theirs.

"Yeah."

And with that said the silence of peace and calmness took over the room as three adults laid under the tree mesmerized by the twinkling lights and comforted by everything else that was all too familiar to them. Each of them were lost in their own thoughts and worlds that the sound of swinging door being pushed open, along with the heavy footprints on the shag carpet were never heard. They never knew they had an audience until the person spoke up.

"Laurie, what are you and the two dumbasses doing laying under the tree?"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ And there you go! The third installment of "Stocking Stuffers" Hope you liked!_

_Merry Christmas and Happy, Happy Holidays to each and every one of you!_

_Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, have a nice day, and remember tomorrow is Christmas, hope you have a wonderful one!_


	4. The Santa Experience

_**Disclaimer: **__I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of it's characters. I do not own any of the songs, movies, TV specials or other characters mentioned in this story. I own nothing! _

_**Author's Note: **__Hello all! How are you? hope you're doing well! I know it's been awhile but I did not forget about this story, just been a little busy working on other stuff-including ne chapters for some of my bigger multichapter stories. Check my profile for more details on that, if you like. But today I have for you the newewst installment of 'Stocking Stuffers' even if it is weeks after Christmas—hope you don't mind! This one is actually split into two parts but can stand alone if you like. I'll have more details on that at the end. For now I just wanna say thank you so much for all the wonderful support and reviews! I hope you enjoy this installment! Hope you're holidays were wonderful and your New Year has been off to a terrific start! Hope you all enjoy this installment, please review if you can, don't need to sign in or have reviewed the others before either would just love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading, forgive me lateness, please review, hope you like, and as always please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"_Look Daddy! Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."_

"_That's right. That's right. Atta boy Clarence!" _

Jackie smiled as she watched the black and white movie, it old but Christmas wouldn't be complete without watching it. She was slowly moving her head from side to side, listening to the film's cast sing _Auld Lang Syne_ when suddenly her ears picked up another noise; a noise that sounded like…sniffling. With a scowl drawn onto her forehead she looked at the man whose lap she was sitting in and made it just in time to see him move his hand away from his shaded eyes.

"Steven?" she asked softly, "Are you crying?"

"No." he answered gruffly; his shades were covering any actual evidence but if he wasn't careful his voice would give his secret away.

She grinned and put her arm around him, "It's okay to cry Steven. Crying actually makes you more manly."

"Yeah, pretty soon I'll be as manly as those guys." Hyde replied with a scoff while gesturing to the other guys in the room.

Turning her head to the left she quickly saw what her husband was talking about. Eric was seated on the sofa, constantly sniffling and wiping his moist looking eyes, Kelso sat beside him and had tear streaks running down his face and with a pumped fist in the air was declaring, 'You go Clarence!' and Fez…poor Fez was a blubbering mess in the lawn chair. She did not want Steven turning into any one of them.

"Buck up, baby." She instructed giving him a quick pat on the back.

Hyde gave a smirk as he watched her go back to watching the ending credits of the movie, glad that she was off his case. At that same moment the missing person of the group came down the basement stairs wearing a look that shouldn't be worn when Christmas was only days away.

"You guys are never gonna believe…" the redhead stopped in her tracks when caught the sight in front of her, she didn't know if she should laugh or frown, "Are you guys crying?"

"No." Hyde quickly answered.

Jackie backed him up despite the fact that she hadn't cried, "It must be something in the air."

"Yeah, I've just got something in my eye." Eric covered for his constant hand and eye contact.

"Me too." Kelso nodded and then moved his hand up to rub his eye but did it a bit too roughly, "Ow! My eye!"

But while his friends were doing their best to deny their emotions, Fez did nothing to try and hide his as he shouted out a tearful, "Clarence got his wings!"

His outburst caused his friends to all frown in his direction but he didn't care nor did he notice as he shut his eyes and began to sob more happy tears over the Christmas movie. Deciding that their friend needed a minute—or a few minutes—to collect himself, Eric remembered Donna's statement when she first entered the room and turned his head to look at her.

"So you said we wouldn't believe something."

Donna sat herself down on the right side of the couch, "Yeah. My dad's not coming for Christmas."

At the announcement her friends—with the exception of the weeping foreigner—gave their disappointed 'aws' and other sympathetic words, they all knew she had been looking forward to his visit for the holidays.

"What happened?" Hyde was the one to ask.

"He decided to stay there in Florida and spend Christmas with his girlfriend and her family." She explained the information Bob had shared with her over the phone, "Guess they're getting pretty serious."

Eric reached over and gently rubbed his hand on his wife's back, "Gee Donna, I'm sorry. I know you were really looking forward to seeing your dad."

"Yeah I was. I mean I'm happy that he's found someone over there and he's happy." She said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "But I really wanted him here. It's Gloria's first Christmas and he was gonna play Santa Claus for her."

"Well we could still get someone else to play Santa." He started to suggested.

Donna scoffed, "Like who?"

"Like Red." Eric replied as if it were that simple.

Arching a suspicious eyebrow Donna stared back at him, "You're gonna ask Red to play Santa Claus?"

"No." he shook his head, "We're gonna ask him."

She nodded, "Right and by 'we' you mean…"

"Red's favorite." Eric's short answer explained his whole plan.

Swiftly catching on to what her husband was saying Donna turned her head and joined him in looking at her friend, waiting for her to look their way. Feeling like she was being watched Jackie turned around and found the married couple staring at her; she'd only been half listening to their conversation but it didn't take long for her to put the pieces together and figure out what they were up to.

"You want me to ask Mr. Forman to dress up as Santa Claus for your daughter?" she questioned.

Eric lifted his finger as he added a reminder, "And your Goddaughter."

"Would you Jackie?" Donna asked, her hands lightly clasped together, "Please?"

"Hmmm I don't know." the dark haired young woman replied her face and voice showing indecisive feeling she had, "Will you get me a great Christmas gift?"

"What?" Eric asked with a frown.

Donna ignored him and agreed with a quick "Fine."

Not sure if she could agree just yet, Jackie continued, "You promise?"

"Yes." Her friend said, trying to remain calm.

"But we already got her gift." Eric spoke but was unheard.

"Say it." Jackie ordered.

Rolling her eyes Donna began to do as she was told, "I promise…"

"Together." She interrupted while glaring in Eric's direction.

Eric returned the glower but still joined his wife in saying the next words, "We promise to get you a great Christmas gift."

"Good." Jackie grinned happily.

Donna's forehead creased with confusion, "So you'll ask Red then, right?"

"I would if I could but I can't. I just wanted to make sure I got a great Christmas gift from you and Tiny Tim." She shared with them but the perplexed looks she received told her they were still lost, "I asked Red to help Steven put up the outside lights at our house last week. I'm maxed out on the favors I can ask him for until next year."

"Yeah, Red's not the only one you're maxed out on favors with." Hyde commented to his wife.

Jackie pouted in disappointment, hoping to get some kind of loan from him but he looked past her (not wanting to fall for her trap) and towards the younger Formans.

"Why don't you guys just hire someone from those Santa Agencies they're always advertising around here." He suggested.

"Oh yeah, let's just hire some stranger to come in and not only give presents but have our nine month old daughter sit in his lap!" Eric said, his voice streaming with sarcasm, "What a great idea! Thanks Hyde."

Hyde didn't like the mockery filled answer he'd gotten from his adopted brother but before he could reply with his own dry words, Donna spoke up with her thoughts on the idea.

"I think what Eric means to say is thanks Hyde, but that's not gonna work. I don't I like that idea all that much either." she said with her shoulders slouching a little, "I mean those companies could send over any guy off the streets, he might not even look like Santa Claus he'd look more like…Eric!"

Instead of being insulted by his wife's words Eric seemed to be inspired by them and he wasn't the only one.

"I got it!" he exclaimed at the same time as the grinning police officer beside him; he frowned at hearing the echo and turned to his friend, "Um Kelso, I meant I've got an idea."

He grinned and nodded, "Yeah, I've got one too."

"Yeeaahh but I've got an idea that actually relates to what we're talking about." Eric commented making a small frown become indented on Kelso's face.

"Me too." he argued in a tone that showed he was getting frustrated.

"Okay, okay." Eric said patting him on the knee, "Let us grown ups talk first and then you can tell us your exploding, fire hazard idea, okay?"

Kelso did not like the tone Eric used to talk to him in—it sounded like he was talking to a kid! He said nothing though and just scowled as he watched Eric turn back around to talk to the 'grown ups' but he was not taking this sitting down.

"Alright so I'm thinking…" Eric started to say before another voice joined.

"I can play Santa Claus!" both Eric and Kelso exclaimed happily, one sounding a bit more excited than the other; however they both seemed to become upset when they heard the others voice say the same words they'd said and again the spoke simultaneously "_You_?"

Eric shook his head, his frown staying in place, "Kelso, you can't play Santa Claus. I'm playing Santa Claus."

"Nu uh. I'm playing Santa." Kelso fought back, "You can play Santa's helper."

"What? No! You want me to play an elf? No way! I'm taller than you!"

"Oh yeah?" Kelso asked, literally jumping to the challenge by popping out of his seat and on to his feet.

"Yeah!" Eric shot out, getting onto his feet in a split second, however his fighting spirit faded as he noticed his competitor was an inch or two taller than him, but that didn't stop Eric—he was not going to be one of Santa's elves. "I'm play playing Santa!"

Balling his fist at his sides, Kelso stomped his foot, "I'm playing Santa!"

"I'm playing Santa!"

"Neither one of you sonsfbitches are playing Santa!" a firm sounding foreign voice declared, breaking up the argument, "Santa Claus is a cheerful, good man, with a big heart but he will put you both on the naughty list if he finds out you are impersonating him." Fez informed before wrinkling his brow with confusion, "Why would you want to play him if he will be here on Christmas Eve anyways?"

The basement filled with an awkward silence—the Santa argument put on pause—as they five others stared at their dark skinned friend who was not only looking confused but also a bit sad almost as if he were remembering some of the cruel rumors he had heard from those little kids at the toy store.

"Uh hey buddy," Hyde called out, "I think Mrs. Forman just finished with a new batch of cookies, if you hurry you might be able to get a few pieces of raw dough."

The young foreign man's eyes widened with glee, those silly rumors were quickly swiped from his mind as he leapt out of his cheer, "Oo yummy!"

As soon as Fez had scurried up the basement stairs in hopes of finding some left over cookie dough, the couple seated in the old kitchen chair looked at their three remaining friends neither looking too happy but one looking more frightening than the other.

"You guys need to watch what you say around him." Hyde reminded.

Jackie nodded as her scowl deepened, "Unless you want a repeat of what happened at Easter."

The memory of what Jackie was referring to quickly entered their minds. Easter this year had not been the best. There had been tears, pouts, and a few physical injuries and that had just been Jackie. Fez's action included a similar list only his included many, many chocolate eggs. No one wanted to relive that. However, there was still one question that had to be asked.

"Don't you guys think…" Donna looked up the stairs to make sure Fez was gone before continuing, "he's old enough to know the truth?"

"I do." Hyde stated, making sure that that was clear.

She could feel her friends staring at her, giving her weird looks, but Jackie really didn't care, "Fez might be old enough but he's still too sweet and innocent to know the truth."

Laughter erupted from the group.

"Fez innocent? Come on Jackie, I can think of three things that prove Fez is _not_ innocent." Eric began before ticking off each item with a finger, "One, he's Fez. Two, his motto besides 'Good Day' is 'Candy and Prono.' And three, he's married to my sister. I don't think he even has a soul now because of that."

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Fine, he's not that innocent. But he's still sweet and has that carefree child like attitude and I'm not taking that away from him and neither are any of you, got it?"

Having the words spoken in a threatening tone of voice caused the others to swiftly nod their heads in agreement.

"Alright so it's settled." Kelso suddenly said, "We keep treating Fez like a baby and I'm playing Santa Claus this year."

Eric's eyes widened as he saw his friend causally sit back down on the couch, stretching out his arms and legs, looking like he was king of the world. This of course, only upset Eric even more.

"What? No, Kelso, I'm playing Santa Claus this year." he said determinedly as he took a seat himself, "My daughter is gonna be there, I'm playing Santa."

"Hey, my daughter's gonna be there too!"

Donna frowned hearing this new news, "What?"

"Yeah, Brooke and Betsy are coming for Christmas." Kelso elaborated, his head lowering as he eyes focused on his hands, "And it's gonna be the first Christmas we spend together…I was kinda hoping I could do something special…like playing Santa Claus."

The faces in the room softened—all but one who's frown seemed to grow.

"Didn't they come for Christmas last year too?" Donna questioned.

Kelso's look of fake disappointment suddenly became real, "Man, I thought you would've forgot! I did!"

Meanwhile Jackie's eyes lit up at her ex-boyfriend's announcement and she turned to her husband wearing a grand smile on her face, "Steven, did you hear that? Both our Goddaughters are gonna be here for Christmas!" she said while excitedly slapping his knee, she abruptly gasped, "We have to go shopping!"

"Uh maybe later babe." He replied already dreading going back to Point Place's Mall for the hundredth time this week, "I'm kinda getting into this whole Santa debate here."

"But Steven, you know Michael's gonna win anyways." She argued with him, "The better looking person always wins."

Hyde shrugged, "I don't know, Forman's got some pretty good points on his side too."

Jackie gazed over at the pair who seemed to be having a stare down over by the sofa, she swung her head back to her husband, "Okay, fine we'll stay. But if Michael wins then you're going shopping with me today _and_ for the end of the year sales.

"What happens if Forman wins?"

It took Jackie a few minutes to think over this one—she really didn't think Eric stood much of a chance at winning this little argument—but she at last came up with one, "Then you won't have to come Christmas shopping with me for the next two years. Deal?"

"Deal." Hyde nodded with a smirk. He and his wife soon sealed their deal with a quick kiss but as soon as that was done with Hyde decided to step in and help his friend out a bit, "Hey Kelso, you don't wanna play Santa Claus, man. You'll have to wear one of those long white beards that'll cover up your face and everything."

Kelso hadn't given much thought about having to wear a beard and it was obvious when he frowned and began to rub his palm over his hairless jaw line, "Yeah….and this really is my money maker."

Having dated Michael Kelso for several years gave Jackie the advantage—if one could call it that—of being able to know what he was thinking more than half the time, and right now she knew he was considering backing out and giving Eric the role of the man in the red suit. Her eyes widened, even more than they had when Hyde had first spoke up with his little beard comment; but two could play this game.

"But Michael, you can't let Eric play Santa Claus either. I mean look at him!" she said using her open hand to gesture towards the opponent, "He's a twig! He'd be playing an anorexic Santa Claus!"

"Burn!" Kelso exclaimed with a pointed finger aimed at Eric; the thought about having to bury his pretty face in a faux beard long forgotten.

Donna rolled her eyes, thinking about how an anorexic Santa Claus would be a lot better than a Santa Claus yelling out 'Burn!' every five minutes. She took a deep breath as she got ready to step in and try to settle this argument since she appeared to be the only one who wasn't favoring one side over the other. If she had her way it would be her father playing the jolly old elf.

"Okay look Kelso, what if you let Eric play Santa Claus this year and next Christmas it'll be your turn." She suggested.

"But I don't wanna!" grown up cop cried like a five year old, "I wanna play Santa _this_ Christmas."

"Ugh fine." She groaned with frustration before turning to her husband who she hoped was a bit more mature about her idea, "Then Eric what if you let Kelso play Santa this year and next…"

"No!" Eric interrupted proving Donna wrong by sounding much like his childhood friend, "I wanna play Santa _this_ year."

"Only one of you can play Santa this year."

Kelso nodded and began to puff out his chest a little, "And if only one of us can play Santa Claus it's gonna me, since I'm the only one with any real acting experience."

"What acting experience?" Hyde asked as both a member of Team Forman and as a member of Team Let's See What Dumb Thing Kelso Comes Up with Next.

"My first job. I was model. And that's like acting." He replied as if his explanation hadn't needed to be said at all.

Eric shook his head in disbelief, "Modeling's not like acting! And you modeled underwear! Santa wears pants!" he declared before settling himself down and speaking again this time much calmer and with some pride in his tone as well, "Now if anyone wants to talk about some _real_ acting experience, t'would be I."

"What acting experience?" Jackie repeated the same question with her arms folded over her chest.

"In first grade." Eric quickly answered, ignoring the groans that seemed to come from Hyde, Kelso, and even Donna, "For our end of the year play, I played the bolder."

Hyde scoff, "Forman, you were a rock."

"I was a bolder!" Eric fired back quite defensively, "Which I might add was the only part in the play that stayed on stage throughout the play."

"Yeah, and a half hour after that." His brother recalled with a light snicker.

While Hyde and the girls found amusement in the little story, Kelso—along with Eric—had his mind on something more important, "Come on Eric, even if you did play a bolder or a rock like Hyde said, I'm still the obvious choice for playing Santa Claus. I'm the Santa Claus expert."

"You're…you're the Santa Claus expert?" Eric asked with a chortle, "Yeah, okay."

"Hey, I bet I know more stuff about Santa than you do!" Kelso argued back, clearly not liking being laughed at.

"Oh really?" the other young man asked with raised eyebrows and when his rival nodded he continued with his thought, "Okay, then we'll just see who the real Santa expert is with a little Santa Claus lightening round."

Kelso was swift to accept the challenge, though had his own ideas to add, "Alright, and the real Santa Claus expert gets to play Santa Claus this year."

"Oh it is so on!" Eric declared sounding pumped up as he shook Kelso's hand to close the deal before thinking up his first question, "Okay what're the name of Santa's reindeer?"

"Pfft, that's easy. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. And if it's a foggy night, Rudolph'll be guiding the sleigh with his nose so bright." Kelso answered without giving a second thought or any kind of pause.

His friends stared back at him, shock color onto their faces; Hyde was so shocked his face became blank, Donna's eyes went wide, and Jackie blinked her eyes rapidly. They couldn't believe this was the same guy who took an hour to name five of the U.S. presidents, one of those five he had actually referred to as 'the guy with the tall hat.'

The fourth of the group wore a small scowl as he watched Kelso grin proudly; he turned his head to the slight just slightly, keeping his eyes on the man in front of him as he asked through the corner of his mouth, "Is that right?"

"I have no idea."

"I think so."

"Maybe."

"Ha ha yeah! That's one for me!" Kelso cheered enthusiastically. He finally knew what it felt like to know things other people didn't, and he liked it! "How many times does Santa check his list?" he asked, deciding to start off with an easy question.

Eric was sure he knew this one, "Everyday!"

"Twice!" Kelso was more than happy to correct.

After his face fell, a small frown began to appear on it, "Well that explains why Laurie never got a piece of coal." He commented but soon brought his mind back on track, "Alright, alright, everyone knows how Santa Claus goes down the chimney to get in the house _but_ how does he get out?"

Kelso stayed smiling as he stood up a and started to retell the only poem he knew by heart that didn't include any man from Nantucket, "_And laying his finger aside of his nose and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!" _he recited while performing the actions of Santa Claus—as if trying to show off his acting skills doubt; he soon thought up his next question, "What's Santa's wife's name?"

This time Eric was a bit more cautious in giving his answer, mostly because he wasn't quite sure if he really had the correct answer, "Um…Mrs. Claus?"

"Ehh!" The noise sounding like a game show buzzer came from Kelso, "It's Jessica Claus!"

Donna scowled, "How do you know?"

"From watching _Santa Claus is Comin' to Town_. Duh!" Kelso responded with a matching tone.

"I can't believe he actually learned something from those dumb kiddy specials." commented a surprised looking Jackie.

Her husband heard her but knew he could top her, "I can't believe he actually learned something period."

Paying no attention Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, Kelso kept his focus on the other married couple in the room. Donna still appeared to be trying to recall Mrs. Claus's first name being Jessica and Eric—who was still curious about the same thing—dismissed Kelso's question and tried to figure out one of his own. That was easier said than done. He struggled to think of a good one. He struggled to think of one he knew the answer to. And the long her struggled the bigger Michael Kelso's grin grew.

"So does that mean I won? I get to play Santa?" he asked sounding as if it were Christmas morning already.

Donna glanced at her thinking husband, giving him an apologetic gaze before looking at Kelso, "Yeah, I guess so Kelso."

"Alright! I win! Ha ha! Yeah!" he cheered with an excited jump and corresponding fist pump; noting his competitor's glum state though, he decided to take his celebration down a notch—it was (almost) Christmas. "I mean uh, good game man, good game."

Eric shrugged off the hand Kelso was patting him on the back, "Yeah, yeah good game." He muttered but then suddenly became very, very serious, "But look Kelso…this whole thing of sitting my daughter on your lap… just…please don't make that a habit. _Please_."

Kelso's brow furrowed with confusion but ended up waving the comment off with a quick, 'yeah, sure, okay.' After all, he did have more important things to talk about.

"Now since I'm the playing Santa Claus," he began, his voice full of smugness, "I think we should make a few changes to make the role fit better with me."

"What kind of changes?" Donna warily asked.

The dopey grin on Kelso's face grew as he began to share the details, "We ditch the fat, old, hairy guy Santa bit and do a new, sexy, shirtless Santa instead, huh?"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__There you go! the third installment of "Stocking Stuffers" Hope you liked!_

_So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Somewhere in between? Wanna read part 2? Should I leave it as is? Wait till next Christmas to post part 2? You tell me!_

_Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, have a nice day and remember only 347 more days till Christmas!_


End file.
